(first posted 11/5/2011) The early-mid sixties were Ford’s golden era, capped by the mega-hit Mustang. Instead of trying to imitate GM like with the Edsel fiasco, finding (or creating) unexploited niches was the name of the new game. And what better way to capitalize on the Mustang’s success than with an off-roader, a category that GM hadn’t yet discovered yet. Sure, the Jeep was the original, and the Scout had already jumped in, but the water was warm; what could go wrong?

The Scout, which Ford clearly couldn’t avoid copying to a very substantial degree when they were designing their new-for 1966 Bronco, had appeared back in 1961. A rather hoary little beast, it was the first to bring a modern (boxy) look to the Jeep category. Even Jeep had to respond, with their Jeepster/Commando, but the CJ still ruled the roost.

Obviously, Ford had a bit more money to spend on the development of the Bronco than IH. The Scout had a few compromises, like its half-a-V8 four cylinder engine, and a ride that was pretty rude. The Bronco’s front suspension actually had coil springs, which gave it greater travel and better articulation than the stiff-legged leaf-spring front ends of the Jeep and Scout.

Ford sized the Bronco to be smaller and lighter than the Scout, with a petite 92″ wheelbase vs. the Scout’s 100 inches. The Bronco was decidedly compact, a decision that would come to haunt it. But then the Jeep was obviously in Ford’s gunsight, and Ford was riding a wave of success with its smaller cars.

To underscore the compact and Mustang-esqe feel, the Bronco base engine was the 170 cubic inch (2.8 L) six. I’ve always wondered about that choice, and why they didn’t put the beefier 200 inch six instead. The 170 worked just adequately enough in a Falcon, but it was anything but torquey. And off-road, that’s a decidedly desirable quality. In fact, it wasn’t until 1973 that the 170 was finally replace by the 200. Go figure.

But Ford’s fine little V8 was optional, and with that under the hood, the Bronco instantly leaped to the top of the 4×4 mountain. With the Bronco’s light weight and the light little 289 or 302 under the hood, the Bronco lived up to its name, and the association to the Mustang.

This one even sports a Sports Bronco badge, whatever that entails. Probably the extra chrome trim and bucket seats.

Which this one has. The transfer case has been cleverly disguised as a floor shifter. And the dashboard is a model of old-school 4×4 design, despite the padded top.

The reality is, it seems like about 95% of Broncos have had at least had their petite rear wheel openings enlarged. It’s almost obligatory plastic surgery on these, it seems. Of course, many have gone on to have even much more radical procedures. Original Broncos are not exactly commonplace.

Ford’s advertising from 1966 for the Bronco has a decidedly split-personality aspect to it. This shot clearly wants to convey how civilized the Bronco could be.

And how it can also let down its hair, as well as its windshield. Ah yes, those were the days when these 4x4s could be partially disassembled and let their inner Jeep run free.

The Bronco got off to pretty good sales start, selling a 24k nits its first year. But it had to settle for second place behind the Jeep for the next couple of years, until Chevy redefined the SUV rules of the game.

Chevy took a different route to get into the nascent SUV game, by shortening a K10 4×4 pickup and giving it a removable top. The rest is history. But the little Bronco soldiered on, virtually unchanged through 1977, before it reappeared in a big-boy version too. Over the twelve years of its production life, the original Bronco sold some 230k units. Soon the most popular SUV models would be selling that many per year.

The Bronco may not have replicated the Mustang’s success, but it went on to become symbol of a time when SUVs were simple, rugged and cleanly styled; timeless qualities that have made the it both an icon and an ICON.

33 Comments

That shifter is the factory control for the transfer case. Perfectly stock, with the same T-handle as a ’65-’66 Mustang.
I take it you missed that silvery looking thing sticking out of the steering column.

My grandfather (yeah the guy with the 67 Mustang) owned one of these early Broncos with a manual trans. It was his commuter vehicle for many years (from the early 70s till his death in 1978) and his policy was that his daughters cound’t take their drivers tests until they learned how to drive that stick shift Bronco and change one of the tires on it. He loved that SUV and a few times when the roads were really awful after his 3rd shift at the GM plant would drive the Bronco straight accross country instead of using the paved road!

Those are centennial Pacific Wonderland Oregon plates issued from ’59 to ’64, carrying a classic 1-by-3 ham radio call sign. They’re on a ’69 truck since ham radio plates stay with the owner. Thus it’s likely he’s the original owner. Extra Class.

Lily has her mystery novel’s P.I., Lennox Kincaid, driving a Bronco just like this one. It gets T-boned in chapter one and forced off the road near the end. Tough rig.

I always liked these old Broncos. These hit the showrooms the same year my Dad got a new 66 Country Squire. As a 7 year old, I was disappointed that he didn’t get the Bronco.

I always admired how Ford came up with that wheelcover design that went on the big Galaxies but still had a big enough cone coming out and a big enough hole to accommodate the front locking hubs. The Galaxie moved on to another wheelcover in 67, but the 66 piece stayed on those Broncos well into the 70s, maybe to the end.

The Bronco was definitely a reaction to the Early Scout, but they definitely wanted to keep the option of stealing Jeep sales. There offerings though were almost a match for the Scout offerings of the day. Roadster, Cab top, Full top, folding full length soft top with the ability to change between them. I’m not aware of them matching the panel and folding soft cab top but I’m not sure the soft cab top was still on the option list.

The fact that they slipped in a V8 made sure us Scout guys got one too, and certainly influenced the development of the Scout II.

Having driven them both I can say for certain that a V8 Bronco is much more sporty and nimble being lighter and having a quicker revving engine. For ride comfort and freeway handling though I’ll take a SII with a 345 holding down its front end. The longer wheel base and sway bar standard on the later models does help make freeway commuting more bearable in the SII.

I still wouldn’t mind having and early Bronco since I am a Ford guy first and foremost, but on the other hand I’m cheap like an IH guy and I can buy a lot more Scouts and Scout parts for the price of 1 Bronco. Plus a Scout II is way tougher than a early Bronco.

One thing to consider about the 170 engine choice is that the Scout trudged along with that 152 in its early years when Ford was developing the Bronco and the Jeep was 4cyl too. One of the initial target markets for the Scout was as an alternative to the conventional “economy car” as the second car. So while the 170 seems small and under powered today when introduced it wasn’t compared to the competition and they all relied on their 2sp transfer case and usually pretty steep axle gearing to give them their off road ability.

Gawd. When I was 19, my marginal boss had a 1977 Bronco, 302 V8. Very civilized, given that it was what it was. We were on the DPW of a rural resort town, 20,000 summer residents, 100 winter residents…with a small-medium city about 25 miles away. The town was a target for Halloween vandalism; lighting fires, parties in cemeteries, that sort of stuff.

That’s where I got to know the Bronco. The town constable and the Sheriff authorized about 20 “Special Deputies” out of the Public Works crew, to patrol our empty town on Devil’s Night. We used the boss’s Bronco…he and I. Through the cemetery; on the waterfront; cuts through yards and (as we got drunker on the case of beer we had in back) even over yards. Hey, it was easy money; I was making minimum wage and got paid $100 that night to essentially get hammered.

But the Bronco – for an all-steel jeep-sized rig, it was tight, quiet, civilized. Had three-on-the-tree, but if felt – from the passenger’s chair. very carlike.

I always wondered, though, why Ford didn’t break out one of their OHV fours, that they had in the stationary-powerplant catalog, to use in this model. Sure, after the 1968 smog-standards it would have been problematic. But in 1966, such problems were two years away. The fours were there – on that DPW I saw them in brush-chippers; in specialty tractors; as replacement power in a cable-guided paddlewheel-driven river-crossing highway ferry. Why not use them in the Bronco, instead of the low-torque small six?

Such fumbling of obvious solutions at the Blue Oval always made me wonder. Ford, in those days, may have had a Better Idea; but it wasn’t always the best idea.

By 1966, future smog controls were just down the pike, and the prospect of cleaning up one of those old industrial/tractor motors might not have looked very palatable. The 200 alone would have been an improvement.

A friend had a ’72 Bronco with the 302 and automatic. It was black, big offroad tires with the cutouts in back, headers, rollbar, soft top. Just a nice rig. It didn’t do that well on very steep hills though. The carb would starve out of fuel and it would stall. Still, it was a capable little truck. Not very civilized, so he traded it for a 1991 Eddie Bauer Bronco gentleman’s ride.

My fifth grade teacher had one of these, same turquoise and white with white interior. It was pretty neat, it really stood out from the other cars in the teachers’ lot, which included first-gen Voyagers and Caravans, an Aerostar and a Plymouth Caravelle. Even in ’91 there weren’t many of these running around. I thought it was a 1960s model because of the color and ’66 Galaxie wheel covers, but I seem to remember him telling me it was a ’73. It wasn’t until much later I found out these were made all the way to 1977.

My grandfather had a green ’69 Bronco. He parked it in the backyard and always used the alley to come and go because they only had a once car garage for Grandma’s Mercury Cougar, then Grand Marquis. I remember sitting in the drivers seat all the time as a little kid and marveling about the huge steering wheel. He then bought a new Ford Grenada (I know, I know) and gave the Bronco to my young (at the time) uncle, who drove it till it rusted out completely, which didn’t take long in Wisconsin. I’ve always had a special spot for these old Broncos.

Aside from the fact that the Bronco’s competition had engines about the same size as that 170 c.i. 6 cylinder, I would imagine the 170 was the base engine so as to keep the base price (super) low as another instance where the base powerplant was barely adequate thereby making an upsell to the V8 that much more attractive.

As I understand it, the 1st generation Bronco and the Bronco II were nearly identical in their dimensions. I didn’t realize, until today, that even the base engines were the same size….albeit one was an inline 6 the other a V6.

And one of my fantasy garage rigs would be an ’85-’86ish Bronco II. With a Currie built 9′ rear axle, and the later Dana 35 TTB front axle from a later 4.0L Ranger or Explorer, which bolts in. A fuel injected 5.0L, and built AOD to complete the package. A modern day 1966 Bronco, if you will.

And while on the subject, I will not own a 4WD that does not have a manual shift transfer case and manual locking hubs. They are the only things that work when you need them to. Electronic shift T-Cases and automatic hubs can be placed where the sun does not shine.